tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post7775858779595064796..comments2023-11-03T11:37:04.473+00:00Comments on nothing new under the sun: Greens on Scripturebyron smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-49165729260026776832007-03-01T11:10:00.000+00:002007-03-01T11:10:00.000+00:00Byron, you may be right that the NSW system is in ...Byron, you may be right that the NSW system is in practice better in that sense. I was ignoring the possibility that people would (out of ignorance or stubborness) vote informally. If everyone follows the rules, no minor party loses support.<BR/><BR/>I wholeheartedly agree that the final showdown is not the <I>only</I> place that counts. A vote for a minor party can be worthwhile even in a systemJonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04663760985851423746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-4000826640140217952007-03-01T00:03:00.000+00:002007-03-01T00:03:00.000+00:00Jo - I'll post something on it in the next few day...Jo - I'll post something on it in the next few days once some final details have been confirmed (still waiting on one more candidate to say yes).<BR/><BR/>Jonathan - <I>Not giving preferences has a similar effect to not voting at all, if the candidates you do vote for don't reach the 2 candidate stage, and one of the last 2 candidates is still elected.</I><BR/>This is true in State elections, byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-68354455854751694762007-02-28T12:57:00.000+00:002007-02-28T12:57:00.000+00:00At at least one of the primary schools I attended,...At at least one of the primary schools I attended, the conditions on what could be done in class while some children were at Scripture were interpreted to mean games or possibly art and craft. Some kids asked their parents not to go to Scripture, as they didn't want to miss out on the "fun". In schools were core material was studied at that time (against policy), the parents were understandably Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04663760985851423746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-43310869673115415732007-02-28T12:22:00.000+00:002007-02-28T12:22:00.000+00:00Hey Byron, I'd be really interested to hear more a...Hey Byron, <BR/>I'd be really interested to hear more about the forum your church will hold, especially as I have to vote in this electorate this year!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-59732404194709467312007-02-28T01:02:00.000+00:002007-02-28T01:02:00.000+00:00David - good letter, thanks for making it availabl...David - good letter, thanks for making it available. I was thinking of writing something similar myself as I found the Southern Cross article very disappointing. I hope they publish it (and follow your advice!).byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-46209892822999247322007-02-28T01:01:00.000+00:002007-02-28T01:01:00.000+00:00Michael - I'd also like to see the two party syste...Michael - I'd also like to see the two party system made a little less rigid than it presently is in Australia (not helped by our Federal voting laws in which you have to give preferences for all candidates - means you are forced to vote for one of the two major parties in most electorates). However, confusingly, our conservative party is not called the Tories (that is the UK), but the Liberal byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-28816534480621030632007-02-28T00:52:00.000+00:002007-02-28T00:52:00.000+00:00It's good to know the Greens support the principle...<I>It's good to know the Greens support the principle, I just wonder how their approach might affect the practice?</I><BR/>Louisa - I agree that their policy may affect the practice, but my main point was simply that prominent Christian politicians are unfairly gaining political influence by incorrectly claiming the Greens will ban Scripture. As for the potential effect on practice, I wonder byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-72474038502783916722007-02-28T00:11:00.000+00:002007-02-28T00:11:00.000+00:00Sorry about the above... I've had 2 lots of coding...Sorry about the above... I've had 2 lots of coding problems and have no idea what is going wrong! I preview it and it looks ok, but when I publish it's all wrong.<BR/><BR/>This my letter that <A HREF="http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/southerncross/articles/letters_to_the_editor_for_march/" REL="nofollow">Southern Cross published.</A><BR/><BR/>******<BR/><BR/>I am writing to express my concern overUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558753031841750078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-33192498938237237562007-02-28T00:06:00.000+00:002007-02-28T00:06:00.000+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558753031841750078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-16405086658701122742007-02-28T00:00:00.000+00:002007-02-28T00:00:00.000+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558753031841750078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-33270466658172401732007-02-27T23:54:00.000+00:002007-02-27T23:54:00.000+00:00Speaking of sensible government, I want to thank P...Speaking of sensible government, I want to thank PM Ian Howard for running down Sen. Barack Obama and Democrats, generally. Since Americans hate to have anyone tell them for whom to vote (see what happened when the French endorsed John Kerry in '04), Howard's remarks have given even more trouble to the Republicans. If we get rid of them and ya'll get rid of the Torries, maybe the world will be a Michael Westmoreland-White, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06343135380354344847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-8935572660473715332007-02-27T22:34:00.000+00:002007-02-27T22:34:00.000+00:00do you think the very next sentence in their relea...do you think the very next sentence in their release has any impact on the sentence you have mentioned:<BR/><BR/>"The Greens support the right of parents to send their children to scripture lessons and the strong system of values taught in NSW public schools. <I> But we do not support the government denying a significant proportion of students in our public school system the opportunity to fill Louisa Clairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01504106677453816810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-8026440473790080112007-02-27T21:12:00.000+00:002007-02-27T21:12:00.000+00:00The Greens will certainly champion certain issues ...The Greens will certainly champion certain issues with regards to religon and education. Of course one of their big issues is whether Christian schools should employ practicing homosexuals.<BR/><BR/>Many Christian schools and groups are naturally up in arms about this agenda of theirs, nevertheless, the Greens actually may have a reasonably good argument!<BR/><BR/>The fact is that Christian Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03143948543305522865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-72633118787397688682007-02-27T10:04:00.000+00:002007-02-27T10:04:00.000+00:00we want sensible government!I'm assuming you haven...<I>we want sensible government!</I><BR/>I'm assuming you haven't been following recent NSW state politics if you think you'll get that from Labor or the Coalition...<BR/><BR/>Not that the Greens or CDP are going to be forming government anytime soon in any case, therefore a vote for them is not a vote for who runs the state, but makes a statement about how you think whichever side wins (i.e. byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-16250002566982792432007-02-27T08:29:00.000+00:002007-02-27T08:29:00.000+00:00I do wonder what the Greens propose be taught in a...I do wonder what the Greens propose be taught in a secular ethics class. Will it be a philosophical study of ethics, ethics-philosophers, and various theories of ethics? Or is the idea to provide 'values' and 'moral training', which without a viewpoint is, to my mind, bewildering. One can't teach perspectiveless ethics if you're also trying to inculcate morality.jeltzzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08016160098665044867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-15495710381696800632007-02-27T08:10:00.000+00:002007-02-27T08:10:00.000+00:00Well, I don't live in NSW anyway.. but, no.Well, I don't live in NSW anyway.. but, no.Mister Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08825856773085135599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-59287443101646639962007-02-27T06:27:00.000+00:002007-02-27T06:27:00.000+00:00Yes, but you still wouldn't actually VOTE for them...Yes, but you still wouldn't actually VOTE for them, now, would you, any more than you would vote for the Christian Democrats... we want sensible government!<BR/><BR/>;-)michael jensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15379361601019023165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-89720262738251237412007-02-27T05:35:00.000+00:002007-02-27T05:35:00.000+00:00What a shockingly sensible policy, given the that ...What a shockingly sensible policy, given the that not every student will attend scripture classes. I'm stunned.Mister Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08825856773085135599noreply@blogger.com